Nonviolence: The History of a Dangerous Idea

Mark Kurlansky

Vintage, 2007 - History - 203 pages

The conventional history of nations, even continents, is a history of warfare. According to this view, all the important ideas and significant changes of humankind occured as part of an effort to win one violent, bloody conflict or another.

But there have always been a few who refused to fight. Following the grand sweep of history from Confucius to Tolstoy, Erasmus to Gandhi, bestselling author Mark Kurlansky traces pacifism and its proponents to show how many modern ideas, a united Europe, the United Nations, and the abolition of slavery - originated in non-violence movements.

About the author

Mark Kurlansky is the author of The Basque History of the World, the New York Times bestseller Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World (among the New York Public Library's Best Books of the Year in 1998), as well as A Chosen Few: The Resurrection of European Jewry; A Continent of Islands: Searching for the Caribbean Destiny, and several acclaimed works of short fiction and journalism about the Caribbean. He spent seven years as the Caribbean correspondent for the Chicago Tribune. He lives in New York City.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Nonviolence: The History of a Dangerous Idea
• Author: Mark Kurlansky
• Edition: reprint
• Publisher: Vintage, 2007
• ISBN: 0099494124, 9780099494126
• Length: 203 pages
• Subjects: History / General; History / Modern / 20th Century / General; History / Social History; Political Science / History & Theory; Political Science / Peace; Political Science / Political Ideologies / General; Political Science / Political Process / Political Advocacy; Social Science / Violence in Society; Technology & Engineering / Military Science